Light Her Path – Working Together to Support Girls’ Education

Once again, the SCEGGS community achieved a remarkable milestone in the Light Her Path campaign, raising over $520,000 on our second annual Giving Day on 9 November.

This is an extraordinary accomplishment, made possible by the 318 donors (80 more donors than last year!) who brought us one step closer to achieving our $20 million goal. We are tremendously grateful to you all for helping to raise almost $10 million since the Campaign started in 2020. More importantly, Giving Day signals to us that our community believes in the value of educating strong, competent, confident and capable young women.

We are thrilled that more than 80% of Giving Day donations came from current parents. Special mention goes to our youngest cohort, Kindergarten, with over 60% of families participating on the day! It was pleasing to see 65% of Year 7 and Year 8 families participate too.

Giving Day also benefited from the generous support of our Old Girl community who raised $87,160, the highest amount of any of the Giving Day “teams”. We would also like to thank the dedicated SCEGGS staff, and our past and future parents as well as other friends of SCEGGS.

We are deeply appreciative of everyone who contributed what was generous for them on Giving Day.

Another highlight of the day was the House BBQs which saw students from Kindergarten to Year 11 come together and celebrate this very special SCEGGS community. This joyous vibe filtered up to the Giving Day operations room too!

Giving Day 2023 could not have been possible without our wonderful Light Her Path Ambassadors – they have been instrumental in the success of the Capital Campaign.

As the 2023 school year comes to an end, we look to 2024 with anticipation, optimism and excitement. We are delighted that together we have all helped to ignite the redevelopment of Wilkinson House. We thank everyone for their efforts in securing the future of girls’ education at SCEGGS by contributing towards raising $12 million for Wilkinson House and $8 million to expand our means-tested scholarships.

Wishing you a happy and safe holiday season!

Christy Boyce
Chair of the Capital Campaign and Trust Board
On behalf of the SCEGGS Capital Campaign and Trust
(Jenny Allum, Sally Auld, Niamh Brosnan, George Cooney, Therese Cochrane, Elissa Crowther-Pal, Marco Dandolo, Kate Dixon, Marnie Douglas, Zoë Hart, Matt Jones, Fleur Jouault, Vanessa Liell, Dianne Nguyen, Carrie Roberts, Stephen Roberts, John Shin, Stephen Turner)  

From the Chaplain

Part 2 of Life is a Drama podcast and some final Christmas news

Here is the second part of our Walk The Mile Podcast “Life is a Drama” . This is our first attempt at doing a podcast LIVE!! It was recorded late last term and all of our guests (Elizabeth Butcher, Peter Eyers, Deborah Galanos, Charlotte Friels and Poppy Lynch) are people involved in the performing arts, particularly the theatre world. We talk about what they get from the stage, the highs and lows, the benefits and the drawbacks. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

And a reminder that we are published on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcast and Deezer, so you can access it easier from your preferred device. I always welcome your feedback or any ideas you may have for further episodes. You will find each podcast as they are produced in this newsletter and on the other platforms as well as our website.

Festival of Lessons and Carols

Our Festival of Lessons and Carols is being held this evening (Thursday 20 November) at 7.30pm in the Great Hall. Everyone in and connected to our community is warmly invited as we celebrate the joy and meaning of Christmas. We take a collection at this service every year and the money donated always goes towards a local charity. I hope to see you there.

Christmas gift collection

As part of our annual school Christmas service, we ask each student to contribute towards a gift for either a boy or a girl, wrapped in cellophane, to donate to Vinnies’ Community Centre in Redfern. These gifts will be distributed to children that may not otherwise receive anything at Christmas due to poverty or other family issues. There will be a greater demand this year due to the unsettling times that many families face due to financial pressure and housing stresses.  The feedback that we get each year is that these gifts make a huge difference to children throughout our city, giving them the message that they are loved and cared for. We will be receiving those gifts up until Friday 1 December. It has been wonderful to see how many gifts have come in so far and I am constantly encouraged by people’s generosity.

“Mr Lee-Lindsay needs new undies and socks”

Our socks and undies drive is going fantastically at the moment and there is still time to donate. I was speaking to someone last week at one of the organisations that we deliver to and they said that they also need new bras. So if you can add that to your donation it would be greatly appreciated.

There is a couple of baskets outside the chapel for collection, like what we do for harvest festival (only we will not decorate the chapel with the items!) I will distribute our collection to local organisations in the last week of term 4. Thank you in anticipation and for your ongoing generosity.

Hampers of Hope

I was approached recently by a local charity named “Hampers of Hope” who provide food for those struggling financially around Sydney, particularly refugees and other ethnic minorities. They have asked if we could provide Family Size blocks of chocolate to go into their hampers for Christmas. Our current Year 8 cohort have begun the collection and there is a box outside of the chapel for collection. The whole school community is welcome to donate to this cause and I will be delivering the chocolate by Friday 8 December.

And finally, if I don’t get to see you at one of the events in the next little while or at one of the gates, I hope you have a lovely summer holiday and a relaxing time over Christmas!! Thanks for being part of the community!

Rev. Garry Lee-Lindsay
Chaplain

Student RAP Committee 2023

Our Student RAP Committee share some of the highlights of 2023 and their hopes for the year ahead.

Sea of Hands Exhibit

As part of recognising National Sorry Day in Term 2, all Form classes wrote messages of apology, reconciliation and recognition of the loss of identity, culture, and livelihood in relation to the devastating history of Indigenous peoples in Australia on the Acrylic hands. Hands in the colours of the Indigenous flags were displayed in a wave shape designed by Jade Brennan paying tribute to the Gadigal People who are known as the Saltwater people. First installed outside parliament house in 1997, the Sea of Hands has become a powerful symbol of Reconciliation and solidarity with Australia’s First Nations People. It’s a way for communities around Australia to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s issues and events, to recognise the injustices faced and learn from past mistakes. Today nearly half a million Australians have planted a hand in support of reconciliation, Indigenous rights and respect.

Flowers for Sorry Day

On Sorry Day in 2023, SCEGGS students participated in making the Sorry Day paper flowers during Form. Having Form classes creating these purple flowers, allowed it to be more interactive and a way to involve everyone, but also to educate them about the importance of the purple hibiscus flower and Sorry Day. This native hibiscus was approved by the National Stolen Generations Alliance as the official symbol for Sorry Day. It was chosen because it is found widely across Australia, and it is a survivor in the harsh conditions found here. It recognises the resilience and strength shown by people who have been removed from their country, language, culture and family.  Its purple colour denotes compassion and spiritual healing. Our flower displays were put up around the school in important places including: Mr Lee-Lindsey’s office, Ms Connolly’s office and the library, all places SCEGGS students visit frequently. One of our RAP committee’s goals for 2023 was to not only commemorate important dates such as Sorry Day but to find ways to integrate these powerful symbols in places across the school where we can all be reminded of our commitment to reconciliation.

Creating Artworks with our Elders

Aunty Kath commissioned artworks for SCEGGS, with the help of the school body, for the school to keep representing the Indigenous voices within our community. Not only were these made for NAIDOC week, but to also raise discussion on the Indigenous peoples surrounding the SCEGGS community, aiming to form deeper connections with them. Aunty Kath came into the school with her artworks, one of which was to acknowledge the theme of NAIDOC for 2023, ‘For our Elders’. The picture had a heart at its centre saying “Let your light shine” and students from across the entire school were invited to place their painted fingerprint onto the canvas, and an artwork dedicated to the Indigenous students that allowed them to trace their handprint onto the canvas. Aunty Kath brought them to an assembly in Term 4 once they were finished and explained the idea and meaning behind the artworks, allowing the school to reflect on what they have contributed and to remember our Elders who, across every generation, have played and continue to play a significant role within Indigenous communities and families as the leaders, survivors, and advocates for First Nations Peoples.

Plans for the future

We are very excited to be in the process of constructing a new Student RAP Committee for 2024. We plan to develop our own vision at the start of next year to help guide our Committee’s actions. We hope to continue working together on activities that raise awareness and further promote reconciliation.

Coco Espie (Year 9), Grace Rock (Year 10) & Ebony Colliss (Year 10)

Year 10 Social Justice Program

Last week, during Social Justice week, Year 10 had the privilege of attending a number of talks and activities, ranging from hearing the stories of survivors to helping hands on in community organisations. Every activity was eye opening and engaging, and it was wholly an inspiring immersion into social justice in our community.

There were several talks from survivors, including from Uncle Roger, a Gumbaynggirr man who lived through the Stolen Generation, and Amedee and Lidis, who survived the genocide in Rwanda. Dr Ari Lander, in conversation with Uncle Roger, led an extremely engaging discussion linking the similarities between different genocides, including the Stolen Generation, Rwandan genocide, and the Holocaust. Listening to Uncle Roger’s stories of his time in Kinchela Boy’s Home, and his loss of culture and identity through the government policy was a huge insight into the impact that assimilation policies had on First Nation’s Australians, and his personal retelling gave me more awareness on the topic than any history lesson ever could. Uncle Roger’s explanation of how he overcame the trauma inflicted on his childhood through forgiveness and how his reuniting with the “Kinchela Boys” has gotten him through the rest of his life was truly inspiring. Amadee and Ladis both told their differing perspectives of the genocide in Rwanda, and while hearing their life stories was confronting and saddening, their lives now in Australia with their wives and children kindled a sense of hope for a better future after genocide.

Ms Salakas’ talk on refugees was equally riveting, and I especially enjoyed her hypothetical explanation of becoming a refugee, which made her talk all the more engaging and brought a sense of reality.

There were several hands-on activities where we got to physically create or do things for organisations such as Our Big Kitchen, Days for Girls, and Thread Together. It was really exciting to be able to hear about how these enterprises help people in our community and around the world who are struggling due to poverty and inequality, and then be able to physically help them make a difference. For example, with Days for Girls, everyone had a different role in creating reusable period products to send to developing countries, where girls are missing school and life opportunities due to not having access to personal hygiene products. My personal favourite activity was at Thread Together, where we sorted through thousands of clothing items that would’ve otherwise gone to landfill, as a part of Thread Together’s initiative to provide clothes to those in need.

The finale of Social Justice week was a traditional smoking ceremony with Locky and Fleur, who led a cathartic ceremony, where we learnt about the significance of smoking ceremonies in First Nations Peoples’ culture for healing and strengthening.

Social Justice week was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring weeks all year, and it was such a privilege to be handed to opportunity to help in the community.

Emily Taylor
Year 10 

Class Parents 2024

Although 2023 is not quite over yet, the P&F are excited to have started planning for a range of wonderful events for next year to bring the parent community together. To do this we need your help!

Volunteering as a Class Parent provides a vital way to be involved in your daughter’s year group, connect with other parents and bring your cohort together.

Class Parents are an important part of the School community and act as liaison between parents, the P&F Association, the Trust and the School. They create and organise opportunities for their Year Group to meet and get to know each other and provide invaluable assistance to the P&F.

We generally find four Class Parents per year is about right, but there are always more in some years, particularly Year 12 and we always do accept more for Year 12 and for Year 6, as both year groups have graduation events towards the end of the year.

We are particularly in need of Class Parents for Year 1, Year 4 and Year 8 – Year 11.

To find how you can get involved and to register for 2024, please click here.

SRC

Fresh Fruit Friday is happening again tomorrow. This is an exciting new initiative led by the SRC, supporting Rough Edges – a program of St John’s Community Services that provides space for people experiencing homelessness to connect with others, seek help or share a meal. As a school, Rough Edges is important to us as it cares for people in our local community of the Kings Cross and Darlinghurst area. 

Thank you to everyone who donated in Week 5. We were thrilled with the response and had several boxes to deliver to Rough Edges who were very grateful for our support. We look forward to supporting this great cause again!

Students are asked to bring fresh fruit and vegetables to the Jacaranda Gate or outside the Cafeteria tomorrow. It’s an easy, small gesture, but one that will be deeply appreciated and enjoyed

The SRC 

Visual Arts

Michaela Gleave, our Visual Arts assistant, is among a select group of some of Australia’s finest contemporary artists in a show premiering in Melbourne at the Museum of Australian Photography on the 25 November. Stargazing in curator Stella Loftus-Hills words “brings together a selection of contemporary photographs that guide the audience towards the stars, the planets and celestial spaces in poetic, experimental, playful, conceptual, and often quite abstract ways.”

More can be read about Stargazing here and about Michaela’s broader practice and exhibition history here.

This concludes another highly successful year for Michaela, following a Residency at the Sydney Observatory, a public art project at Docklands, a solo show at Passage Gallery in Sydney, a performance at Sydney Observatory, an artist talk at the University of Queensland Art Museum, exhibiting at the Perth Festival and being reviewed and interviewed in numerous publications, on ABC radio and as a guest in pod cast interviews.

Michaela is an asset to the Visual Arts Department and her practice and status in the contemporary art world models to us, and our students, a woman who is flourishing in an art career. 

Reminder to join the entire Visual Arts Department, past and present, at the opening of their Group show, Eleven this Saturday.

This week’s banner is a work from Michaela’s suite of cyanotypes called Blueprints for the Universe in Stargazing. On until 18 February 2024. Please keep the attribution at the end of the article thanks

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Music Matters

Woodwind Ensemble – Beehive Industry

Congratulations to the members of the Woodwind ensemble who shared their music with the community at Beehive Industry. The girls performed during lunchtime on Monday 20 November and the audience were delighted with popular melodies such as Chattanooga-choo-choo and Star Trek. Thank you to Ms Nicole Barrett who prepared and conducted the girls for this performance. Thank you also to Mr Michael Tierney for organising this opportunity for the ensemble. Well done girls!

K-2 Concert Let’s Be Friends – Scenes from Childhood

Congratulations to students from K – 2 with their performance last Friday 24 November. The theme of the concert was Let’s Be Friends – Scenes from Childhood featuring beautiful music, songs, dance and use of shadow puppets in support of the theme. Many thanks to Mrs Bronwyn Cleworth with her preparation and direction of this special performance. Thank you also to Ms Heidi Jones for her accompaniment of the musical items. Well done to all students!

Music 2 Composition ENCORE Nomination – Rebecca Colwell

Congratulations to Rebecca Colwell (Year 11 accelerant) who received a nomination for her Music 2 Core Composition. As part of the study of Music 2, every student must write a 2-minute composition representing the core topic Music of the last 25 years (Australian focus). Rebecca’s work was composed for a small ensemble of piano, violin and cello. Her work is inspired by the poetry of Banjo Patterson and aims to explore the dichotomy between the eerie stillness and the vibrant grandeur of the Tasmanian natural landscape around Cradle Mountain.  

Rebecca has also earlier received a nomination for her Music 2 performance program. Well done Rebecca! 

Festival of Lessons and Carols

The Festival of Lessons and Carols is a special event in the school calendar with a beautiful celebration of Music to accompany the Christmas readings. The featured ensembles are:

• Amati Strings
• Cantare
• Choir
• Madrigal Ensemble
• Primary String Octet
• Year 5 Choir
• Year 7 Choir

We look forward to sharing this evening of wonderful Christmas music with you and your family.

Special Project Orchestra (SPO)

Thank you to students for your commitment to SPO for Speech night this term. Please note the following rehearsals for next week:

Bring Your Musical Instruments Home!

There is a collection of musical instruments that are in desperate need to be taken home over the Christmas holidays. If you have left your instrument in the DB studio storage, please make plans to bring your instrument home as there will be some renovation work done in the DB Centre over the Christmas period.

Upcoming Music Events

Term 4

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Secondary Sport News

Easts Touch Football Grand Finals – November 25

Despite overcast weather and rain showers, the Easts Touch Grand Finals were still able to be played. We had three wins on the day to our Senior 1^st who won the Pillinger Cup. SCEGGS 5 and 10 were also successful winning their finals.

Congratulations to the following players who were awarded the Best & Fairest Awards on behalf of Easts Touch.

Water Polo

Well done to our water polo teams for a great season.

SCEGGS 1 finished 5^th overall in S01 after Loreto Kirribilli forfeited the playoff.

SCEGGS 2 finished equal first with Kincoppal Rose Bay after an undefeated season including a 6-6 draw with KRB.

SCEGGS 3 were also undefeated and won their grade.

Do you have any sporting news or photos to share in the Green Gate?

We love seeing our students being active and want to celebrate their passion and enjoyment amongst the SCEGGS community. Please send in any action shots from the weekend and any other interesting sporting highlights to Alison Gowan.

SCEGGS Training and matches Wet Weather

Wet weather notifications will now be sent out on Clipboard.

IGSA Fixtures, Results and Wet Weather

The IGSA website and platform for accessing wet weather, fixtures and team results can be found here.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself on 9052 2721 or 0418 491 521.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Primary Sport

End of Year Sport

A friendly reminder that there will be no sports activities next week as we wrap up the final week of school for 2023.

On behalf of our dedicated coaches and staff, we want to thank all students (and their families) who have actively participated in various activities throughout the year. From the Monday Morning Swim Squads to midweek Gymnastics and Saturday sports, it has been truly fantastic to witness so many students embracing various activities.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to express your appreciation to the sports staff and coaches over the next week for their hard work and dedication to girls’ sports. Without them, none of this would be possible!

We look forward to more exciting developments in Primary Sport at SCEGGS in 2024! Wishing all families a safe and joyous holiday break.

Tom Mitton
Primary Sport Co-ordinator

Reminder – 2024 Book lists Year 7-11

The Year 7-11 Book Lists are now live on Box of Books and available for purchase.

To ensure delivery for the start of Term 1 2024, Box of Book have indicated that all orders need to be received by 8 December 2023.

Please note – if your daughter is new to SCEGGS and/or you do not know your daughter’s email address as yet, please enter in her email as:
firstnamelastname@sceggs.nsw.edu.au (eg gracesmith@sceggs.nsw.edu.au)

Box of Books will then contact the school to confirm the details. This will only affect accessing the digital books, physical delivery will still be processed according to the details you provide. Once your daughter’s email is confirmed she will be able to access the digital versions as well.

Craig Whalland
Director of ICT

Advance Life Photography Discounts for Select Group Photos Available

Advanced Life 20% Discount on Sport & Co-Curricular Group Photos until Wednesday 13 December 2023

These school sports and co-curricular groups were photographed on 25 October 2023.

You can now view and purchase the group images listed above and if you place your order before Wednesday 13 December 2023 you will get a 20% early order discount. Just click on the link below. Please note the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Images can also be viewed by visiting Advanced Life entering the code: LAF MAC YTE and clicking on “Group Photos”

Important

• Sports and co-curricular group photos can only be purchased online, PLEASE DO NOT return payment to school
• Photos will be sent to school for distribution approximately six weeks after the discounted early order period has closed
• Past years’ photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available at your school’s advancedorder and your child’s advancedyou photo sites

If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience, please contact us at Advanced Life

School Holiday Arrangements

The School will close over Christmas and New Year from Friday 22 December 2023 and re-open on Monday 8 January 2024. During the rest of the school holidays before and after this period, hours and services are as follows:

• General Office 8.00am to 4.00pm
• SCEGGS Shop 9.00am to 3.30pm, by appointment

(Please call the School if you need to make a uniform appointment and please note the Shop is closed from Thursday 7 December, re-opening Monday 8 January).

Phil Rogers
Director of Administration

School Shop

End of Term Lost Property Reminder 

As we approach the end of the school year this is the final reminder to all who have misplaced school uniform and other miscellaneous items to come in and claim them.

I have accumulated the usual sundry collection of pencil cases, reading glasses, water bottles, lunchboxes, shoes and last but not least, School Uniform.

The last day of trading will be Thursday 7 December 2023. We will re-open on Monday 8 January 2024 to conduct uniform fittings for new and returning students. Uniform fittings through out January are by appointment only.

For those who would like to place on line orders for Summer uniform, the link is available here.

We look forward to helping you with your Uniform needs.

Have a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

Clare Reid
School Shop Manager 

Blazer Pocket Awards

Girls in the Secondary School who are awarded a “Pocket” for excellence and outstanding achievement in a co-curricular activity can have their blazers embroidered during the holiday period. Awards will be announced at the end of term Assembly on Wednesday 6 December. Students with previous awards not yet embroidered can also leave their blazers at this time.

Blazers may be left at the Student Services Reception until 1pm on Monday 11 December. Blazers cannot be accepted after the cut-off time, any late submissions will need to wait until the next holidays.

Embroidery and dry cleaning will be done during the holidays and the cost will be charged to your daughter’s account.

Administration Office